Multistage creping apparatus



HM. 2'7, 193%. w. H. CANNARD MULTISTAGE CREPING APPARATUS Filed Oct. 20, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Patented Dec. 27, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT i OFFICE- 2.141.809 MULTISTAGE canrmc APPARATUS ,William H. canal-a, Green Bay, we

Application October 20, 1936, Serial No. 106,685

11 Claims.

This invention is directed to the production of corrugations in web and sheet material, such as paper, which provide a rib or pleat effect therein and give the material elasticity and other char- 'acteristics. The characteristic feature of the invention is that the forming operation is divided into a series of stages through which the material is moved, and under which the material is first provided with initial corrugations which serve to give transverse crowding and then reformed into longitudinal corrugations of a different character. This operating principle is the same as that employed in my copending application Serial No. 106,683, filed October 20, 1936, and the present invention involves a machine employing a novel combination of operating units capable of producing corrugated effects for which the machine of said other application is not adapted. While falling broadly within the method of'said other application, the present invention involves a change in the manner of forming corrugations in different operating stages calculated to substantially extend the utility of the general method.

According to the present invention, the material to be treated is initially passed through one or more stages of coacting sets of travelingbelts which transversely crowd the material and form longitudinal corrugations therein. Thereafter material is passed between corrugating rolls designed to produce a final set of corrugations of the desired character. In my copending application above identified traveling belts are employed as corrugating elements in all operating stages. It has been found, however, that belts are not adapted to produce corrugations of certain shapes satisfactorily, and that where e tremely fine corrugations are desired it is impractical to' construct a machine with belts sumciently small to obtain the desired formation in the material. These difiiculties are overcome in the present invention because corrugating rolls may be provided having any desired contour, and a single machine may be quickly changed to make different forms of corrugations merely by substituting a different type of corrugating roll for those previously employed in the machine. A further advantage of the present combinative arrangement is that while multiple sets of corrugating rolls are required in the former types of machines which employ such rolls as 'the sole corrugating means, a single set of corrugating rolls is sufficient in my new machine by reason of the fact that the corrugations preliminarily 66 formed by the belt elements sumciently crowd the webtransversely and so shape the material, that the desired type of corrugations may be permanently formed in the material, simultaneously throughout any desired width thereof, by employing a single set of corrugating rolls. The belt forming mechanism may be embodied in a relatively short machine, and of course the provision of corrugating'rolls to perform a further operation on the material requires practically no increase in the length of themachine.

In some instances the present invention may be carried out by using corrugating rolls in combination with an initial corrugating unit comprising a single stage of traveling belts, the preliminary mechanism taking ,the form, for example, of the belt corrugating unit of my prior Patent No. 1,716,260, dated June 4, 1929. In other instances, however, it will be found necessary to employ at least two successive preliminary forming stages before the material is in condition to have the final corrugations produced therein. This is true, for example, where it is desired to provide a multiplicity of relatively fine corrugations which, despite their size, necessitate a considerable narrowing and crowding of the material transversely. For universal practice, therefore, I prefer to employ an initial belt corrugating unit adapted to transversely narrow the web by producing open folds, or coarse corrugations, and a second belt corrugating unit to convert the loose folds into a definite set of corrugations, all as disclosed in my application Serial No. 106,683, and thereafter utilize corrugating rolls in a third operating stage calculated to produce a final set of corrugations of any desired .type. chine of the invention is intended for high speed production, and it has been found that the material treated, particularly if it is paper, is likely to rupture or tear in its edge areas unless the transverse crowding of the web and formation of corrugations is carried out rather gradually. The use, therefore, of three successive operating stages serving to initially form, then reform, and thereafter further reform the material better insures against loss in production. Despite the fact that the proposed invention involves a multiplicity of separate stages, it has been found that the same may be carried out in a practical machine somewhat shorter in length and requiring less space than an-equivalent machine of the conventional type wherein the corrugations are formed in asingle stage and gradually changed in shape to their final form as they progress through the machine.

The novel combination machine of the present The mainvention and the corrugating method for which the same is adapted may befully understood by. reference to thefollowing detailed description of the practical operative machine as embodied in the accompanying illustrative drawings.

In such drawings:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary top pl n view of a machine employing the several types of corrugating instrumentaiities according to the present invention; j 1

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section corresponding to Fig. 1 and showing schematically the arrange! ment of the several corrugating stages;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary view showing a modification of certain of the operating elements of Figs. 1 and 2;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional elevation of a portion of the machine shown in Fig. 2 with-the operating elementsof Fig. 3 substituted; I go Fig. 5 'is a fragmentary plan view corresponding to Fig. 1 and illustrating a further feature of the invention; and

Fig. 6 is a view in sectional elevation correspondingto Fig. 5. I 35 An operating frame is provided. comprising upper and lower halves adapted respectively to carry the (meeting upper and lower sets of corrugating instrumentalitles represented in Fig. 2. The upper portion of the frame will preferably 80 be divided as shown in Fig. 1 into two longitudinally adjoining sections 2 and 3 which may be raised andlowered independently of each other with respect to the lower frame part through adjustable supporting means 4 which are pros5 vided at suitable points longitudinally of the machine, and whereby the operative relation between the upper and lower sets of corrugating instrumentalities may be adjusted to regulate the depth of corrugations formed in the material at different stages of the machine. The adjustable supporting means 4 may take any desired form but can conveniently be made as .fully explained and shown in my copending application Serial No. 106,683, above referred to.

The web or sheet of material to be treated enters the machine from the right hand end as shown in Fig. l, and passes successively through sets of traveling belt corrugating elements which transversely crowd the web by forming corruga- 50 tions therein. After emerging from the discharge end of the belts at the left hand end of the machine, as shown in Fig. 1, the material passes between corrugating rolls which convert the corrugations formed by the belt into new corrugations.

In themachine as disclosed the belt corrugating instrumentalities are arranged in two successive stages. The first stage comprises an upper set of parallel traveling belts l and a similar lower set of belts II which are coactively arranged to form corrugations in the material as it passes therebetween. Theupper belts lil 'preferably pass over and are driven by a series of uniformly spaced shives supported on'suitable g shafts journaled in the sides of the upper frame section 2. At the inlet end of the machine there is only a single central belt carried bya shive l2. Coacting with the upper central belt are a pair of the lower belts supported by shives I 3. 7 It will be understoodthat Fig. 1 shows only onehalf of the full width of the machine and that the other half is merely a duplicate of the por- 'tion' shown. I

The number of belts is progressively increased 75 at successive points so that additional corrugaranged in different relation to each other than the sets of belts II and I i previously described.

s,141,soo

tionsareformedssthematerial'advances. The exact number of belts progressively introduced in this stage of the machine will depend upon the width of the material to be treated. In the illustrative machine, following the shive i2 is a series of three shives l4 in the upper section at which an additional belt-III is introduced on each side of the central belt, while at' the same time two additional lower belts II are introduced to coach therewith, the lower belts being supported on'a series of four shives supported in the lower frame of the machine. For purposes of clarity the lower belts, II have been omitted from Fig. l. 4

Spaced rearwardly from the second series of shives l4 andll are a further series of upper and lower shives it and I1 supporting the belts previousiyintroduced and additional belts added at theedgea. A terminal set ofuppe'r and lower shives i8 and II is provided around which the initial sets of belts pass back to the inlet end of the machine.

Supporting the respective upper belt shives l2, J4, l8 and II are a series of shafts 10, 22,14, and I6 journaled at their ends in the sides of the upper frame section 2, and supporting the lower shives l3, l5, l1 and It are similar lower shafts 2|, 23, and 11 Journaled in-the lower frame (not shown) Belts ill of the upper set and belts II of the lower set are'preferabiy-spaced a substantial distance laterally from each other and the several sets arranged vertically in offset relation, as shown in Fig. 2, in order to form merely open folds or coarse corrugations which will serve primarily to transversely crowd the material into condition for a further corrugating operation at a later stage in the machine.

It is desirable, as illustrated, to employ a further set of belt corrugating instrumentalities ar- A new upper set of traveling belts in is provided together with a similarly arranged set of lower belts 3|. Certain of these belts may be supported at their initial end on shives 44 and 45 loosely mounted upon the upper and lower shafts 26 and 21 between the respective shives l8 and i9, which carry the belts l0 and II of the preceding corrugating stage. Further shives 32, I4 and 36 may be provided longitudinally of the machine to support upper belts 30 and similar shives 33, and 31 employed to carry the lower belts Ii. The upper shives 32, 34 and 36 will be supported respectively on shafts 38, 40 and-42 journaled in the sides of the second upper frame section 3, while the corresponding lower shives 33,15 and :1 will be fixed to shafts :9, 4| and 43 joumaled in the sides of the lower frame.

It will be noted that additional edge belts 30 and iii may be inserted at progressive points in the second stage of the machine, for it may be found neither necessary nor desirable in some instances to form the coarse corrugations to the full width of the web in the initial operating stage. I

The lateral spacing between belts Ill and II of the upper and lower set is different from the arrangement of the initial belts l0 and II. Also, by reason of the fact that the upper frame section 3 is adjustable independently of the previous upper frame section 2, the operative relation'between the upper and lower belts 30 and II will be different than in the previous stage, all as will appear from Figs. 1 'and 2. Thus, the web as initially crowded into open folds or coarse longi- 76 formed therein.

The last forming unit of the machine comtudinal corrugations by the belts l and I I will be reformed into an entirely new set of longitudinal corrugations in the present operating unit. As previously noted, certain of the belts 36 and 3] may start at shives and 45 on the same shaft which supports the terminal shives l8 and IQ of the original operative unit, while additional belts can start at later points in the machine.

The particular arrangement of the belts 30 and 38 illustrated will reform or convert the initially produced coarse corrugations into a greater number of relatively finer corrugations.

The belts 30 and 3| will terminate at and pass around shives 36 and 37 on shafts 42 and 43, and it is now assumed that the web is now sufliciently narrowed, and transversely crowded, and

shaped to have the final set of corrugations prises coacting rolls 46 and 4'5, respectively supported on shafts 48 and 49 journaled in the sides of the upper and lower frame sections, and preferably mounted so that they may be removed and replaced by other rolls. In the form shown the rolls 4,6 and 4-1 are provided with coacting grooves and ribs adapted to form extremely fine longitudinal corrugations from the material as received from the belt corrugating mechanism. The type of corrugation produced by the rolls may be varied within wide limits both with respect to number and shape according to the surface design of the rolls. The rolls, as shown, may be so designed as to produce two or more corrugations in the material from each of the larger corrugations previously produced by the belts- 30 and 3i, and the corrugations may be made much finer with the rolls than would be possible or practical through belt corrugating elements as employed in the previous part of the machine.

The design of the rolls 46 and 41 is such as to produce longitudinal corrugations of rounded cross-section. It may be desirable, however, for certain purposes to produce corrugations of other shapes. Thus, in preparing reinforced corrugated board an entirely different form of cor-' rugating roll may be substituted in the last stage of the machine, for example, the form of roll illustrated in the coacting pair 56 and in Figs. 3 and 4. It will be evident that the latter type roll is adapted to form more or less V- shaped creased corrugations with narrow fiat top and bottom walls which meet the adjoining side walls in creased edges. Byproperly proportioning the peripheral ribs and grooves of such rolls the corrugations formed thereby may be 'made of any desired size in relation to the corrugations in the material as formed in the preceding operation of the machine. It will be evident, however, that the preliminary formation of corrugations by the belt corrugating instrumentalities puts the material in such condition that the coacting corrugating rolls can function with minimum difliculty and without serious danger of rupturing material or producing defects therein.

While the coacting corrugating rolls constituting the last forming stage of the machine are shown in Fig. 1 as being mounted in the same frame section as the last belt corrugating stage, it will be understood that such rolls may be mounted so as to permit their operative relation to be varied independently of adjustment between the coacting upper and lower belts of the previous corrugating stage, thus enabling the depth of corrugation formed by the rolls and the belts to be varied independently in the several stages.

The coacting corrugating rolls and the various sets of belts will be power-driven so as to serve to advance the material through the machine as well as corrugating the same. To this end intermeshing gears will be fixed to the upperand lower shafts of each set of. shives which carry the belts I 0, II and 30, 3| so that the upper and lower belts will be driven together, preferably at the same speed. The gear 52 on the shaft 42 is representative, and it will be noted in Fig. 1 that similar gears are provided on the other shafts 26, 22, 24, 26, 38 and 46 carrying the several sets of upper belts; On the shaft 43 a similar gear meshing with gear 52 will be provided, and similar gears will also be provided on .the other shafts 2|, 23, 25, 21, 35 and 4| which drive the lower sets of belts. The same type of gear 53 will be employed on the shaft 48 of the corrugating roll 46, and coacting with such gear the corresponding upper and lower shafts, drive both the upper and lower belts. The adjacent gear 55 should be fixed to the upper shaft of the next shaft pair 48, 49, and this alternate mounting of the gears 54 and 55, one on a shaft of the upper section and the next on the shaft of the lower section, will be maintained throughout the machine in order to provide rotation of all the shafts and the belts and rolls carried thereby in the proper direction.

While the distance in the machine between the terminal point of the corrugating belts 36 and Si and the corrugating rolls 46 and ll is not great, it Will be found in some instances that there is a certain tendency of the material as corrugated by the belts to spread out laterally before reaching the bight of the corrugating rolls. .To overcome any such tendency means may be provided in the intervening space to hold the corrugations formed by the belts during transit of the material to the corrugating rolls. Such means may take the form illustrated in Figs. 5 and 6 wherein a roll 56 is supported, here in the upper section, between the terminal shive 36 of the belt corrugating unit and the corresponding corrugating roll 46 of the roll corrugating unit. Such roll will have a surface formation adapted to engage corrugations of the web as produced by the corrugating belts 30 and 3!, and thus prevent spreading of the corrugated web during its passage to the corrugating rolls. The surface formation of the roll 56 will depend upon the type of corrugation produced by the belts and also upon the type of corrugation subsequently produced by the corrugating rolls. In Fig. 5 the forming roll 46 is designed to form two corrugations from each single larger corrugation formed by the belts 30. With such arrangement the roll 56 may be provided with a series of ribs arranged in pairs of two ribs 51 and 58 which are individually arranged to conform to the spacing of the ribs on the roll 46. Between each pair of ribs 51 and 58 will be a blank space, also corresponding to two ribs on the roll 46, such space being alined with one of the belts 30 of. the belt corrugating section. The roll 56 with the formation described may be supported on its shaft 69 nested between the shives 36 and the roll 48 as shown in Fig. 6. The web will be taken offbelts 5 30 at shives 36, pass up over roll 56 and be fed thereby into the fiuting of roll 46, and thence pass between and be corrugated by rolls 46 and 41. If it is desired to positively drive roll 56, a special gearing must be provided to connect the same tothe gear train of the machine.

In many instances the material will be in its desired form upon leaving the corrugating rolls 4B and 41. It may, however, be desired to crush the corrugations into fiat pleats. This may be done by providing a set of press rolls 60 and SI secured to shafts 62 and 63 which are journaled in the sides of 'the upper and lower frame sections of the machine. Such rolls may be driven together from the gear train in the same manner as previously described.

The treatment of the material as carried out in the machine is performed in a series of stages, and employing different types of corrugating instrumentalities in different parts of the machine. In the first operating stage relatively open folds or coarse corrugations are produced, the number being increased gradually as the material progresses through the first stage. After the coarse corrugations have been produced to the desired width of the material, the material then enters a further forming stage which converts the now transversely crowded material into a set of definite corrugations. Emerging from the second stage the material is passed through a third stage where it is reformed into a final set of corrugations of the form, number and size desired. A further pressing stage may be employed if the corrugations are to be flattened, but this of course is optional.

In the use of the machine in forming corrugated paper, the paper may be treated either while dry or wet. In case it is wet the moisture will be removed in the conventional manner after leaving the machine.

While the present machine functions to produce only longitudinal corrugations in the material, it will be understood that the same may be used in combination with transverse creping mechanism which may act upon the material either before or after passing through the longitudinal corrugating apparatus.

I claim:

1. In a corrugating machine, the combination of coacting sets of traveling forming belts for transversely crowding a web of material into temporary longitudinal corrugations, and a set of coacting corrugated rolls having a greater number of corrugating ribs than there are belts in the belt sets receiving the web from the belts and adapted to subdivide the corrugations into a series of longitudinal corrugations of different web into a greater number of longitudinal corrugations of smaller size than produced by the belt corrugating unit.

3; In a corrugating machine a preliminary nar- 15 rowing unit adapted to transversely crowd a web corrugating surfaces adapted to subdivide the of material passing lengthwise through the machine into coarse longitudinal folds, a traveling parallel belt corrugation forming unit for subdividing the folds in the web into a series of smaller longitudinal corrugations, and a corru- 5 gating roll forming unit for reforming and further subdividing the web into a new series of still smaller longitudinal corrugations.

4. A corrugating machine comprising a traveling parallel belt forming unit producing coarse longitudinal corrugations in a web of material passing therethrough, a further traveling parallel belt forming unit for reforming the corrugations in the web produced by the first belt unit into a larger number of smaller corrugations, and a corrugated roll forming unit adapted'to subdivide the corrugations produced in the web by the second belt unit into a greater number of still smaller corrugations.

5. In a corrugating machine, a plurality of corrugating units each comprising coacting sets of laterally spaced parallel traveling belts and arranged one after the other to successively act upon and form longitudinal corrugations in a web of material as the same moves lengthwise through the machine, the belts in a subsequent of said units being moreclosely spaced laterally and greater in number than in the preceding belt unit, and a fine corrugated roll forming unit arranged at the outlet end of the last belt corrugating unit having forming surfaces adapted to subdivide the web corrugations produced by the last belt unit into a new series of still finer corrugations.

6. In a corrugating machine corrugating means comprising coacting sets of traveling round-surfaced belts adapted to form parallel longitudinal corrugations in a web of material passed lengthwise through the machine, and a set of coacting corrugating rolls at the discharge end of the corrugating belts having coacting fiat-surfaced ribs of V-shaped cross-section adapted to reform the corrugations in the web produced by the belts.

7 In a corrugating machine, a corrugating unit comprising coacting sets of traveling belts adapted to form longitudinal corrugations in a web of material passed through the machine, a further corrugatingfunit adapted to reform the corrugations in the web formed by the first unit into a greater number of finer corrugations and comprising corrugating rolls positioned beyond the outlet end of the belt corrugating unit and means engageable with corrugations of the web to prevent spreading fitted between the terminal end 'of the belts of the first unit and the corrugating 55 rolls of the other unit. 8. In arcorrugating machine, a traveling belt web corrugating. unit, a corrugating roll forming unit beyond the discharge end of the belt unit adapted to produce in the web corrugations of. a different size than produced by the first unit, and a conveyor roll fitted between the terminal end of the belts of the first unit and the roll forming unit having a corrugated surface engageable with corrugation produced in the web by the first unit during passage of the web to the corrugating roll unit.

9. In a corrugating machine a traveling belt web corrugating unit, a corrugating roll unit adapted to subdivide the corrugations produced in the web by the first unit into smaller corrugations, and a transfer roll fitted between the terminal ends of the first unit and corrugating roll unit having a surface shaped to conform to and engage corrugations in the web as produced. II

duced by the first corrugating unit during transby the belt unit, said transfer roll surface being subdivided to conform to the corrugated surface of theforming rolls of the second corrugating unit.

10. In a corrugating machine, a first corrugating unit adapted to produce longitudinal cormgations in a web passed lengthwise through the machine, a following corrugating unit comprising a coacting pair of corrugated forming rolls adapted to reform and subdivide corrugations in the web produced by the first unit into a plurality of finer corrugations, a transfer roll fitted between the units having a corrugated surface conforming to and coacting with the corrugated surface of one of the pair of forming rolls of the second unit, the corrugations of the transfer roll being arranged in spaced groups which conform to and engage coarser corrugations in the web profer of the web to the second unit.

11. In a corrugating machine, corrugating means for forming a Web into a series of longitudinal corrugations of curved cross section, and subsequentmeans for reforming the web corrugations formed by said first means comprising a pair of coacting forming rolls provided with peripherally extending ribs which have outwardly converging side walls and a narrow flat peripheral end wall meeting the side walls in crease-producing edges, adjacent ribs being separated at their base by a narrow wall and forming between them grooves complementary in shape to the ribs, the ribs and grooves of the respective rolls interfitting with each other.

WILLIAM H. CANNARD. 

